Global LNG: Asian spot prices fall on weak demand and rising supply
The average LNG price for August delivery into north-east Asia was $12.70 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), down from $13.10/mmBtu last week, industry sources estimated.
'Rising Pacific supply, high LNG inventories in China and South Korea, and weak industrial demand across China and India continued to pressure the market. The Iran–Israel ceasefire further eased geopolitical risk premiums,' said Kpler analyst Go Katayama, adding that output from Australia, Malaysia and Nigeria has increased.
'Looking ahead, the bearish outlook persists, with initial LNG Canada exports adding to supply length. While soft fundamentals dominate, further price declines could stimulate restocking, particularly in Japan.'
LNG stockpiles held by major Japanese utilities fell to 2.15 million tons as of June 29, industry ministry data showed, as hotter weather drives cooling demand. This is down from 2.27 million tons the previous week but slightly above the five-year average of 2.1 million tons.
'Despite steady nuclear output, rising temperatures are outpacing non-gas generation capacity, potentially triggering incremental spot buying if the heatwave persists,' added Katayama.
In Europe, S&P Global Commodity Insights assessed its daily North West Europe LNG Marker (NWM) price benchmark for cargoes delivered in August on an ex-ship (DES) basis at $11.142/mmBtu on July 3, a $0.435/mmBtu discount to the August gas price at the TTF hub.
Global LNG: Asian spot LNG prices at 4-month high on supply concerns
Argus assessed the price for August delivery at $11.19/mmBtu, while Spark Commodities assessed it at $11.175/mmBtu.
'A lack of a demand catalyst in the global LNG market failed to spark strong price reactions on the week with the supply picture balancing out as increased liquefaction from the U.S. and Qatar helped to improve supply fundamentals,' said Aly Blakeway, manager of Atlantic LNG at S&P Global Commodity Insights.
'With large supply hubs returning from maintenance and Asian demand still relatively on the sidelines, Europe continued to attract the brunt of cargoes as a closed arbitrage to Asia and heatwaves in the Mediterranean lured in waterborne LNG cargoes.'
European prices have seen limited upside as demand in competing regions has been weak, while the European Union's less stringent storage targets have shifted supply risks to winter, said Xiaoyi Deng, deputy head of LNG pricing at Argus.
'This is reflected in increasing winter premiums over prompt deliveries in recent weeks,' said Deng.
Meanwhile, the U.S. arbitrage to northeast Asia via the Cape of Good Hope is marginally pointing to Europe, while the arbitrage via Panama continues pointing to Asia for a fifth week, said Spark Commodities analyst Qasim Afghan.
In LNG freight, Atlantic rates fell to $42,000/day, while Pacific rates eased to $40,000/day, he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
3 hours ago
- Business Recorder
TSX edge higher; US tariff deadline approaches
Canada's main stock index edged higher on Friday, buoyed by gains in real estate stocks, while concerns over U.S. trade deals ahead of the looming July 9 tariff deadline weighed on sentiment. The S&P/TSX composite index hit a fresh record high and was last up 0.1% at 27055.24 points. The index was on track to log a weekly gain. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Washington will start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they will face on imports to the United States. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump are aiming to reach some form of trade deal by July 21. 'The threat of further global tariffs remains… but the most severely negative global trade scenarios still look less likely than they did a few months ago,' economists at RBC Economics said in a note. Data on Friday showed Greater Toronto Area home sales rose for a third straight month in June and prices extended their recent decline. TSX hits record high as investors assess economic data, trade talks On the TSX, real estate stocks led sectoral gains, rising 1.4%. Allied Properties up 2%, Dream Industrial REIT advanced 1.6%, among the top gainers on the benchmark index. Mining shares edged 0.1% higher, energy shares were flat. Copper prices retreated on Friday. Copper miners Capstone Copper down 1.3% and Ero Copper down 1.1%, were among the bottom performers on the main index. S&P's Canada services PMI data on Friday showed that Canada's services economy contracted at a higher rate in June with U.S. trade policy uncertainty leading to decreased activity and increased cost pressures, Meanwhile, Trump's tax-cut legislation cleared its final hurdle in the U.S. Congress on Thursday, with plans to sign it into law later in the day.
Business Recorder
3 hours ago
- Business Recorder
KSE-100 continues record run, gains further 1,262 points to close at fresh high
Buying continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 1% to close at a fresh record high on Friday. At close, the benchmark index settled at 131,949.07, up by 1,262.41 points or 0.97%. 'This positivity in the market can be attributed to buying by institution on new allocation towards equity fund as indicated by National Clearing Company data,' brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report. Top positive contribution to the index came UBL, HBL, SYS, BAHL, MCB, NBP and MEBL, as they cumulatively contributed 1,289 points to the index. On Thursday, the PSX extended its record-breaking rally as the government's decision to slash National Savings Scheme rates, reduce industrial power tariffs, and accelerate deliberations on the privatisation of state-owned enterprises fueled market momentum. The KSE-100 surged to a fresh all-time high, rising by 342 points or 0.26% to close at 130,686.66 points. On a weekly basis, the KSE-100 increased 6.09%. 'This positivity in market can be attributed to hefty buying by institutions on account of new liquidity being diverting towards equity on the back of lower yields and higher taxes on fixed income,' Topline said. Internationally, most Asian equity markets struggled on Friday, despite record highs for Wall Street overnight, as US President Donald Trump's deadline for trade deals loomed next week. The dollar retraced some of Thursday's gains with US markets already shut for the week, as traders considered the impact of the sweeping spending bill Trump is about to sign into law. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.3% as of 0152 GMT after flipping between gains and losses in early trading. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slumped 1.3%, while mainland Chinese blue chips edged slightly lower. Taiwan's equity benchmark shed early gains to decline 0.2%. South Korea's KOSPI sank more than 1%. US S&P 500 futures edged down 0.2%, following a 0.8% overnight advance for the cash index to a fresh all-time closing peak. Wall Street is closed on Friday for Independence Day. Investors cheered a surprisingly robust jobs report on Thursday in sending all three of the main U.S. equity indexes climbing in a shortened session. Following the close, the House narrowly approved Trump's signature, 869-page bill, which would add $3.4 trillion to the nation's $36.2 trillion debt, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Trump also said he would start sending out letters to trade partners with their tariff rates, as deals remained elusive ahead of the July 9 deadline. Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee weakened against the US dollar, depreciating 0.04% in the interbank market on Friday. At close, the currency settled at 283.97, a loss of Re0.11. Volume on the all-share index decreased to 733.08 million from 899.85 million recorded in the previous close. The value of shares declined to Rs34.94 billion from Rs43.25 billion in the previous session. WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 58.26 million shares, followed by Bank Makramah with 35.81 million shares, and Treet Corp with 29.72 million shares. Shares of 473 companies were traded on Friday, of which 255 registered an increase, 177 recorded a fall, while 41 remained unchanged.
Business Recorder
6 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Rupee lowers against US dollar
The Pakistani rupee weakened against the US dollar, depreciating 0.04% in the interbank market on Friday. At close, the currency settled at 283.97, a loss of Re0.11. On Thursday, the currency settled at 283.86. Internationally, the US dollar held gains on Friday after President Donald Trump got his signature tax cut bill across the final hurdle and pressure mounted on countries to secure trade deals with the United States. The greenback rallied from multi-year lows against the euro and British pound hit earlier in the week after stronger than expected US jobs data pushed out the timing for potential rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. New Zealand's kiwi dollar, a common proxy for risk appetite, rose 0.2% to $0.608 after U.S. stocks climbed to new record levels. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly passed Trump's 'One, Big, Beautiful Bill' of spending and tax cuts that is estimated to add $3.4 trillion to the nation's $36.2 trillion debt. With the US closed for Independence Day, attention turns to Trump's July 9 deadline when sweeping tariffs take effect on countries like Japan that have not yet secured trade agreements. The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against major peers, had its worst first half since 1973 as Trump's chaotic roll-out of sweeping tariffs stoked concerns about the U.S. economy and the safety of Treasuries. Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, were little changed on Friday as a solid job market bolstered the case for the US Federal Reserve keeping interest rates on hold, with investors also awaiting clarity on President Donald Trump's plans for tariffs on various countries. Brent crude futures rose 1 cent, or 0.01%, to $68.81 a barrel by 0036 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude firmed 3 cents, or 0.04%, to $67.03. Trade was thinned by the US Independence Day holiday.
